Core receiver table



'Sept.l2n9, 19.70

H. A. BouRAssA l ET AL coRE RECEIVER TABLE Filed my 2s', 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet '1 nhl Il Si Il lL TMSK M. mmmf ,e Vo .P// Mm NBHJ. T A Aww HMA e w U20 HAEW Y B United States Patent Office 3,530,994 Patented Sept. 29, 1970 3,530,994 CORE RECEIVER TABLE Hugh A. Bourassa, University Heights, Arthur H. Emser,

Mentor, and Edward J. Ptak, Cleveland, Ohio, as-

signors to Acme-Cleveland Corporation, a corporation of Ohio Filed July 23, 1968, Ser. No. 746,887 Int. Cl. B22c 19/02 U.S. Cl. 211-13 21 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A core receiver table to receive a core or mold having a variable contour and which is easily damaged. The table carries a plurality of upstanding lingers which have a small frictional force to permit their being readily moved to conform to the irregular contour of any such core. Hand wheels turn screws to relatively move two supports in the table and this frictionally binds the ngers in a located position. This frictional binding compresses elastic rubber sleeves to establish a yielding frictional force binding the fingers. Thereafter the table may be raised and lowered to receive successive cores with the lingers precisely positioned to receive these cores.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In foundry practice cores or molds are used which are made from a refractory material such as sand plus a binder. In recent years thermosetting or other hard setting |binders have been used for both solid and shell cores. In the present specification the use of the 'word core will mean either a core or a mold in the strict foundry sense. Machinery to make foundry cores is operated as rapidly and with as short a cycle time as is possible in order to obtain maximum productivity of the machine and floor space. Accordingly a bare minimum of time is provided for the binder material to set and usually this binder is only partially set so that the core is still fragile at the time it is released or ejected from the foundry machine. Many machines have a rather rapid and sometimes jerky ejector mechanism which can damage the still soft core. Other machines have a motion of parts of the foundry machine which means that any conveyor or the like to receive the core must be positioned downwardly a considerable distance to be out of the way of the path of movement of such parts of the foundry machine. This means that the completed but still soft core must drop a considerable distance and this tends to increase the number of damaged cores which have to be discarded. This damaging is especially true where thin projections or other fragile parts of the core are provided. Because the foundry machine manufacturer cannot possibly anticipate the literally millions of different types of cores which can or will Ibe produced by the foundry machine in its useful life, it is difficult to provide the machine with a rapid cycle time and still have a high percentage yield of cores which are not damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention may be incorporated in a core receiver comprising, in combination, iirst and second supports disposed in generally parallel planes, a plurality of aligned transverse apertures in each of said supports, irst friction wall means on said iirst support at said apertures therein, second friction wall means on said second support at said apertures therein, said iirst and second friction wall means facing substantially in opposite directions, a plurality of core receiver lingers each disposed in an aligned set of apertures and each generally perpendicular to said supports and engaging said first and second friction wall means, and stress means acting between said supports to relatively move said supports in opposite directions generally parallel to said planes to establish said friction wall means holding said fingers in place with a frictional force.

Accordingly an object of the invention is to provide a core receiver table which will gently and firmly support a core.

Another object of the invention is to provide a core receiver table with a plurality of fingers which may readily be projected at different elevations to receive a core with an irregular contour.

Another object of the invention is to provide a core receiver table with plural lingers frictionally held in place with a small frictional force so that they may readily be positioned to receive an irregular contour core and then the frictional force may be materially increased to lock the ngers in place to receive successive cores of the same shape.

Another object of the invention is to provide a core receiver table with stress means and elastic means connected in series between two supports which frictionally bind the plurality of fingers at adjustable elevations to receive a core.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS (FIG. 1 is a front elevational view partly in section of a core receiver table embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view partly broken away of the core receiver table;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the table of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 4 4 of FIG. 2;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The figures of the drawings show a core receiver table 11 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, however, this showing is only by way of example and the invention is not to be limited thereby. This core receiver table 11 includes generally a plurality of ngers 12, a first support 13, a second support 14, and stress means 16. The table 11 also includes besides the first and second lsupports a third support 15. These supports are shown as flat metal plates each disposed in generally parallel planes which are horizontal in this preferred embodiment. The rst and third plates 13 and 15 are rigidly held together by bolts 18 passing through spacers 19. Cross bars 20 are provided at the two ends of the table with journal surfaces 21 receiving a pivot bearing surface of links 22. The links 22, in this case four in number, are actuated by a mechanism, not shown, to raise and lower the entire core receiver table vwhile retaining it generally horizontal. The cross bars 20 are slidably journalled on the spacers 19 at the two sides of the table 11. Compression springs 23 act between the top or irst support 13 and the cross bars 20 to urge these cross bars into engagement with the third or bottom support 15. `One purpose of the springs 23 is to permit a short ejection stroke of the foundry machine, allowing the core 30 to move away from the cavity of the core box with equal support and pressure by the table 11 without damage to the core. Another purpose of this is to provide a safety spring support so that if the table 11 meets some obstruction in its upward movement, the springs 23 will yield permitting the cross ybars 20 to rise even though the table 11 cannot.

FIG. 4 better shows how each one of the lingers 12 is carried in the table 11.. Aligned apertures 25, 26, and 27 are provided in the first, second, and third supports 13, 14, and 15, respectively. The apertures 25 and 27 are of approximately the same size to closely receive the respective finger 12. The upper end of the finger 12 has a cap 28 to engage the core 30. This cap 28 may be of any size' or shape as desired. The core may have an irregular lower contour 31 as shown in FIG. l, and accordingly the elevation of each of the plural fingers 12 may be adjusted to evenly engage this core 30. The stress means 16 includes a screw 33 threadably engaging a nut 34. This nut is in the form of a spacer spacing and interconnecting the first and third supports 13 and 15. A hand wheel 35 is provided on the front of each of the two screws on the table 11 and the inner end 36 of each of the screws 33 acts against the second support 14. By moving the hand wheel 35, the second support 14 is moved relative to the first support 13 and also moved relative to the third support 15.

As better shown in FIG. 4, elastic means in the form of resilient blocks or elastic sleevs 38 are provided in series with the stress means 16 between the first and second support 13 and 14 and between the second and third supports 14 and 15. These elastic sleeves 38 may be resilient compressible material such as rubber which have a length approximately equal to the spacing between the first and third supports 13 and 15. The fingers 12 are preferably disposed within metal or suitable non-metallic material sleeves 39 for wear resistance and to provide for a sliding fit to allow adjusting the eleva tion of the fingers 12. These metal sleeves 39 are surrounded by the elastic sleeves 38. These sleeves 38 are disposed within the respective apertures 26 in the second support 14 with an interference fit so that the elastic sleeves stay in place. The two ends of the metal sleeve 39 lie closely adjacent the inner surfaces of the Ifirst and third supports 13 and 15 and surround the apertures 25 and 27. Also the two ends of the elastic sleeve 38 lie closely adjacent the inner surfaces of the first and third supports 13 and 15 and surround the apertures 25 and 27. The fact that the elastic sleeves 38 are separate units for each finger 12 permits wider manufacturing tolerances in that the apertures 25, 26, and 27 do not need to be perfectly aligned.

Friction wall means are provided to frictionally grip each of the fingers 12. This friction wall means is included in the first, second, and third supports 13, 14, and 15. The first and third friction walls 41 and 43 form a portion of the inner cylindrical periphery of the apertures 25 and 27 which is an actual surface of the supports 13 and 15. The second friction wall 42 is not unitary with the second support 14 instead it is a part of the inner cylindrical periphery of the metal sleeve 39, and for this purpose the sleeve 39 may be considered a part of the second support 14. A friction ball 45 is disposed in a detent hole 46 in the metal sleeve 39 at a location close to one end of the sleeve 39. The friction ball 45 frictionally engages the side of the finger 12 as urged by the elastic deformation of the elsatic sleeve 38. Because the second support 14 is thinner than the space between the supports 13 and 15, this provides a space for the elastic sleeve to bulge as at 47 to accommodate the friction ball 45. This friction ball 45 urges the finger 12 into frictional engagement with the second friction wall 42 to hold the finger 12 in a vertical position, perpendicular to the support 13-15, with a relatively small force. The friction ball 45 may be replaced by a cross pin or dowel, held in the elastic sleeve 38 and bearing frictionally against the respective finger 12.

The FIG. 1 shows how the second support 14 is positioned approximately equidistant between yet out of contact with the first and third supports 13 and 15. A spacer 50 surrounds one of the bolts 18 and a washer 51 holds this second support 14 in the proper position. A second spacer 52 is provided between the washer 51 and the support 13. A shorter elastic sleeve 53 is provided between these spacers 52 and the second support 14. A smaller diameter aperture 54 of the second support 14 below the elastic sleeve 53 will engage the spacer 52 and hence limit the movement of support 14 relative to Supports 13 and 15.

OPERATION The core receiver table 11 is designed to rapidly be adjusted to receive gently but lrmly any core 30 which may have some irregular lower contour 31. The core receiver table 11 may be moved up and down by the links 22 and when moved upwardly may be disposed closely adjacent a core discharge station of a core making foundary machine, not shown. These cores when first made are soft and fragile because enough time to allow the core to become set to a hardened state cannot economically be provided. Accordingly at the time that the core 30 is discharged onto the core receiver table 11 it is still somewhat soft and may have sharp projections 56 or other fragile parts which must be handled carefully otherwise they will break and if so then the percentage yield of the satisfactory cores from the foundary machine will be lower. To first set the plurality of fingers 12 at the proper elevation, the hand wheels 35 are loosened to the position shown in FIG. 3. In this condition practically the only force holding each finger 12 is the frictional force established by the friction ball y45. This will be a small frictional force enough to carry the weight of each finger 12. The table 11 is then moved upwardly into contact with the irregular contour 31 of the core 30 and these fingers 12 will then adjust themselves to the proper position for support of this core 30. The core table may provide as many as a hundred or more fingers 30. The core table may provide as many as a hundred or more fingers 12 and if any finger happens to come right at a projection such as projection 56 or if it comes at a sharp corner 57 then such finger may be removed entirely. With the many apertures and respective fingers in the table 11, a satisfactory pattern and number of fingers will be availble to support all varieties of shapes and sizes of cores 30. Once the proper ,elevation for the caps 28 of the fingers 12 is established, the hand wheels 35 are tightened and this moves the stress means 16 or screw and nut means 33, 34 to move the second support 14 relative to the first and third supports 13 and 15. This frictionally binds the fingers 12 in place with a considerably greater frictional force than that formerly established by the friction -balls 45. As viewed in FIG. 4, the second support 14 will Ibe moved to the right. This elastically deforms the left center of the elastic sleeve 38 and binds the finger 12 between the first and second friction walls 41 and 42 and between the second and third friction walls 42 and 43. It will be noted from this figure that the second friction wall 42 faces in the direction generally opposite to that of friction walls 41 and 43. Also from this figure it will be noted that the elastic means or sleeves 38 are resilient block means which are in series with the stress means 16 between the second support 14 and each of the first and third supports 13 and 15. Further FIG. 4 shows that when the hand wheels 35 are tightened this causes the bulge 47 to decrease and this actually slightly decreases the frictional force ball 45 with the respective finger 12. The ball 45 may alternatively be positioned at any location around the periphery of the elastic sleeve 38 and will perform its function of slight frictional force on the finger 12. With the hand wheels 35 tightened then the entire plurality of fingers 12 are frictionally bound in position so that the core receiver table 11 may then be used in its normal up and down movement to receive, and to discharge onto a ribbon conveyor for example, successive cores 30 all having the same lower contour 31. By this means the successive cores of the same shape will all be gently handled without fear of the cores being damaged. Also the irregular contour established by the tops of the fingers 12 may be moved up into very close engagement or actual engagement with the core 30 at the end of ejection of this core. This still further reduces the possibility of breakage of the cores 30.

Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A core receiver comprising, in combination,

Ifirst and second supports disposed in generally parallel planes,

a plurality of aligned transverse apertures in each of said supports,

first friction wall means on first support at said apertures therein,

second friction wall means on said second support at said apertures therein,

said first and second friction wall means facing substantially in opposite directions,

a plurality of core receiver fingers each disposed in an aligned set of apertures and each generally perpendicular to said supports and engaging said first and second friction wall means,

and stress means acting between said supports to relatively move said supports in opposite directions generally parallel to said planes to establish said friction wall means holding said fingers in place with a frictional force.

2. A core receiver as set forth in claim 1, including elastic means connected in series with said stress means, said fingers and said supports.

3. A core receiver as set forth in claim 1 including a third support disposed generally parallel to said first and second supports and adjacent said second support,

and apertures in said third support carrying said plurality of fingers.

4. A core receiver as set forth in claim 3, including third friction wall means on said third support at said apertures therein.

5. A core receiver as set forth in claim 4, wherein said second and third friction wall means face in substantially opposite directions.

6. A core receiver as set forth in claim 2, wherein said elastic means includes resilient block means elasticly compressed by said stress means.

7. A core receiver as set forth in claim 2, wherein said elastic means includes a compressible elastic block adjacent each said aperture in said second support.

8. A core receiver as set forth in claim 2, wherein said elastic means includes an elastic sleeve surrounding each of said fingers.

9. A core receiver as set forth in claim 8 including a metal sleeve disposed -between each of said fingers and the respective elastic sleeve.

10. A core receiver as set forth in claim 8 including a friction ball disposed within said elastic sleeve and acting against the respective finger.

11. A core receiver as set forth in claim 10 wherein said stress means upon -being actuated decreases the frictional force of said friction ball with the respective finger.

12. A core receiver as set forth in claim 8 including a metal sleeve surrounding the respective finger and disposed between the respective finger and the respective elastic sleeve,

and the ends of said metal sleeve disposed close to said first support and surrounding the aperture therein.

13. A core receiver as set forth in claim 3 including an elastic sleeve surrounding the respective finger.

and the ends of said elastic sleeve disposed close to said first and third supports and surrounding the apertures therein.

14. A core receiver as set forth in claim 3, including elastic means connected in series with said stress means and acting between said supports,

spacer means to space said rst and third supports apart a distance materially greater than the thickness of said second support,

and'elastic means including elastic sleeves surrounding each of the fingers.

15. A core receiver as set forth in claim 14, wherein Said elastic sleeves have ends disposed closely adjacent said first and third supports and disposed around the respective apertures therein.

16. A core receiver as set forth in claim 15 including a friction ball disposed near one end of each of said elastic sleeves and urged by the elasticity of the respective sleeve into frictional engagement with the respective finger.

17. A core receiver as set forth in claim 16 wherein said friction ball is disposed in an axial position between said first and second supports to permit said elastic sleeve to bulge into the space between said first and second supports to accommodate said friction ball.

18. A core receiver as set forth in claim 16 wherein the elasticity of said elastic sleeve urges said friction ball against the respective finger to urge said finger against said second friction wall means in said second support.

19. A core receiver as set forth in claim 1 wherein said stress means includes screw and nut means connected between said first and second supports.

20. A core receiver as set forth in claim 3 including a nut connected to said first and third supports,

a screw threadably engaging said nut,

and a hand wheel to turn said screw to have said screw act on said second support to move same relative to said first and third supports.

21. A core receiver as set forth in claim 9, wherein said second friction wall means is a surface on said metal sleeve.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,982,804 12/1934 Hall 269-266 XR 2,311,942 2/ 1943 Hagemeyer 211-13 XR 2,733,488 2/1956 Valyi 164-226 XR 2,754,708 7/ 1956 Peterson 269-266 XR 3,103,353 9/1963 Lassy 269-267 FOREIGN PATENTS 568,704 4/ 1945 Great Britain. 639,696 7/ 1950 Great Britain.

ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner A. FRANKEL, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

